Tripp Jones
Founder and Principal
Tripp Jones has spent his wide-ranging career in the public, private and non-profit sectors working to expand economic mobility and opportunity for America's at-risk populations and address social justice issues. He is a social entrepreneur with unique experience in creating, scaling and investing in social enterprises; developing public policy; and designing and leading high impact policy research and advocacy efforts. Tripp is known for collaborating effectively with opinion leaders and policymakers across the political spectrum at the federal, state and local levels.
Tripp is currently Principal at 21c, a strategy and advisory firm he founded in 2014 to help groundbreaking social enterprises, public sector innovators, advocacy initiatives, philanthropists/social impact investors and the media take advantage of uniquely 21st century opportunities to maximize their impact.
Background
Prior to founding 21c, Tripp co-directed New Profit, a national venture philanthropy organization that backs breakthrough social entrepreneurs who are advancing equity and opportunity in America. While at New Profit, Tripp oversaw the firm’s strategic planning to evolve its growth and impact, the work of its policy and advocacy group America Forward, and was responsible for leading the firm’s efforts to help build the independent, social finance advisory firm, Third Sector. As a member of Third Sector's board of directors for many years and now an advisory board member, Tripp has helped the organization to work across America with government agencies, philanthropic and for-profit investors and service providers to address social needs through Pay for Success (PFS) and Social Innovation Finance (SIF).
Before joining New Profit, Tripp was the executive vice president and chief administrative officer at The MENTOR Network (now also called Civitas Solutions), a national human service and health care network providing community-based services for adults and children with disabilities and special needs. As a member of the company’s executive team, he and his colleagues worked with their investors to successfully complete 45 acquisitions in order to scale and diversify MENTOR’s services from $250 million in revenue operating in 13 states to $1.1 billion in revenue in 38 states with 25,000 employees. While at MENTOR, Tripp focused largely on building the systems to enable the company to manage explosive growth, extensive service-line expansion, complex integration of operations and to develop the reputation and capability of positively influencing the country’s expansive and highly-distributed social service systems. He also founded and served as the president of The MENTOR Network Charitable Foundation.
Prior to that, Tripp co-founded and served as the executive director of MassINC, the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth, an independent, nonpartisan think tank committed to developing a public agenda that promotes the growth and vitality of the middle class. For over 20 years, MassINC has pursued its agenda through quality research, journalism (as publisher of award-winning CommonWealth magazine), and public education programs focused on the importance of private initiative and the private sector (nonprofit and for-profit), as well as public policy and the public sector. Tripp continues to serve on the organization’s board of directors.
Tripp has served in a variety of capacities in government and is a veteran of national and state political campaigns. In the early 1990s, he played a key role as staff director of the Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on Education in leading the successful fight for education reform in Massachusetts, bringing together elected officials, business leaders, educators, and community activists to pass the state’s landmark Education Reform Act of 1993. In the late 1980’s, Tripp served in the administration of Governor Michael Dukakis as the special assistant to the Secretary for Administration & Finance. He has served on the Transition Teams for Governors Charlie Baker, Deval Patrick and Mitt Romney – – chairing Governor Romney’s Education Transition Committee. He has served on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Economic Development and Performance Advisory Councils. In 2010, Tripp chaired the No On Question #2 Campaign to defeat the statewide ballot initiative to repeal Massachusetts’ affordable housing law. In 1994, he was the campaign manager for the Democratic nominee for Governor, Mark Roosevelt.
Tripp is an active member of his community, serving as an advisor to and board member of a number of national and local social enterprises and community organizations. He has been a Visiting Scholar at The Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. A graduate of Hamilton College, he lives in Wayland, Massachusetts with his wife, Robin, his sons Hugh and Tucker, and his daughter Eden.